Posts Tagged ‘Canada Arm’

Don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t make a difference. Don’t ever allow yourself to fall into the trap of fatalistic defeatist bullshit thinking that says, “What can I do? I’m just one person.” This one person made a difference. In fact, I may have changed the course of a nation.

Almost three months ago I wrote about the proposed sale of MDA‘s space division to an American defence contractor and how the transfer of its Radarsat2 to American control represented a threat to Canadian sovereignty. I also urged people to write to the Prime Minister, other relevant cabinet ministers, and their MPs. A couple weeks later, I reported that some of you must have paid attention and spread the word because Industry Minister Jim Prentice had just announced that he would review the sale.

On March 18th, in an email to me and cc’d to Defence Minister Peter MacKay, he wrote that he was continuing his review and mentioned the criteria he takes into account. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, because security considerations were pretty vaguely defined.

Well, yesterday, it paid off. It looks like the government is going to stop the sale, as reported in this news story. As Stephen Colbert would say, “I did it!” You can thank me for saving the country later. I’m considering changing the subtitle of this blog to “Saving the Nation One Post at a Time”. And any goalkeeper, the last line of defence, will tell you that posts are his best friend.

Now, of course, I’m not the only one who was against the deal but, if I can toot my own horn for a bit, no one else seemed to notice or care about the security and sovereignty considerations until I brought it up. I wrote emails to the media, too. One sour note in the news yesterday was that NDP leader Jack Layton was trying to take credit for it and claiming that the government was coming around to his way of thinking. I must have missed those speeches. Maybe he expressed concerns about losing Canadarm, but I didn’t hear a word about Radarsat2 or security concerns from him.

The scale of this achievement shouldn’t be underestimated. The network news reporters are saying this is unprecedented. It’s the first time a cross-border acquisition has ever been overturned by the government for security reasons. That it was done by a Conservative government whose priorities seem to be to guarantee and increase the flow of capital into the country and maintaining friendly relations with a security obsessed administration in Washington is even more noteworthy. It is an indication that they are aware that there is something called Canada that is more important than any business transaction. That is not a principle most Canadian governments could convincingly say they upheld.

I want to make it clear, I’m no commie. I have no problem with companies making an honest profit, and I generally don’t like taxes. But, there was a higher principle at stake, here. It’s amazing what you can do with a blog, an email account, and knowing how to speak someone’s language.

For a while now, I’ve felt that the greatest threat to Canadian sovereignty could be summed up in two words: shareholder value. Late last week, Richmond, BC based MDA announced it would sell its space division to an American company. The media made a bit of a fuss about what a blow to national pride this would be, as the Canadarm, the robotic arm used on the space shuttles and the international space station, is one of the space division’s assets. But there is an even greater loss, or even threat, involved with this transaction.

The media, for some reason, didn’t talk a lot about the fact that the division’s other assets include RadarSat2, and the implications of its falling into foreign hands. The sale could actually result in a threat to arctic sovereignty and national security.

RadarSat2 is a remote sensing satellite that was put into orbit fairly recently. Its capabilities and duties include monitoring arctic waters for vessels – as small as cars – to protect and reinforce Canada’s sovereignty. Aside from the usual reasons for not allowing an asset used for defence purposes from falling into foreign hands, the problem with the sale is that the Americans refuse to recognize Canadian sovereignty and rights over waters that clearly fall within the limits set out by the UN Convention on the Laws Of the Sea (UNCLOS). So, ownership of the satellite that enables us to monitor our own waters will transfer to the people who want to take them away from us.

The northwest passage has become an important issue lately because global warming is melting arctic ice at a surprisingly fast pace. The passage is now being seen as a viable navigation route for the near future. There are also believed to be valuable resources beneath the seabed. If UNCLOS definitions are recognized, Canada has economic rights over them and can impose environmental standards. If they are not, anyone can take them and not have to worry about environmental practices.

Contact your MP, any relevant cabinet ministers, and the PM. Tell them that RadarSat2 must not be allowed to be sold to foreign interests. Even if the MDA deal goes ahead, provisions will have to be made to keep RadarSat2 in Canadian hands.